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North Korea 'conducts first successful hydrogen bomb test'

After speculation of a "man-made" earthquake, North Korea has confirmed its first "successful" hydrogen bomb test. The announcement could fuel fears over Pyongyang's efforts to build a warhead capable of reaching the US.

A North Korean newsreader announced the test in a state television broadcast on Wednesday. The news came just hours after several monitoring agencies

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North Korea a "worldwide military power"

North Korea a 'worldwide military power'

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake was in the northeast of North Korea, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Kilju city, directly next to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said ministers were holding an emergency meeting in response to the revelation.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described Wednesday's test as a "threat to Japan's security."

Speaking to reporters, he said that Japan "absolutely could not tolerate North Korea's nuclear testing," adding that his nation would take a "firm response."

Fears over bomb development

North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests in the last 10 years, the most recent of which was in February 2013. All of the weapons were atomic bombs, which can be made of plutonium and uranium.

The latest test is now likely to reignite fears over Pyongyang efforts to build a warhead, small enough to be mounted on a missile and capable of reaching the shores of mainland America. In the past, North Korean officials have threatened to target the US mainland and destroy South Korea in a "sea of flames."

saying that his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, had turned North Korea into a "powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb to defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation reliably."

Kim's claims that the country already had a H-bomb were met with skepticism by international onlookers, however.